salad Archives - Page 6 of 6 -

April 25, 2014

Kale Salad with Red Cabbage, Carrots, and Pine Nuts

Did you know that you can get tennis elbow without being a tennis player? I certainly didn’t, but now I have it and I know all about it. It has forced me to slow down and appreciate all that I use my arms and hands for. How true it is that it’s easy to take things for granted until those things are taken away. As I struggled to chop this kale, I felt so thankful for simple things like being able to use a knife to cut fresh vegetables. Doing things slowly help me to appreciate simple things in life.

Olive oil and lemon juice make up the dressing for this salad. It may not sound like much, but the lemon truly brightens up the kale and cuts through any bitterness. It’s simple, but goes along so well with the kale, cabbage, and carrots. The wonderful thing about kale salads is that they store well as leftovers, although sometimes it’s necessary to add some extra dressing and seasoning to the salad if it’s eaten the next day.

Kale Salad with Red Cabbage, Carrots, and Pine Nuts

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 bunch kale
1½ cups thinly chopped red cabbage
1½ cups grated carrots (about 3 medium carrots)
¼ cup pine nuts
For the dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sea salt
dash of pepper

Instructions

Toast pine nuts in a single layer in a 350 oven for 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully because the pine nuts burn easily.
Remove kale leaves from the tough stalks and roughly chop kale. Toss with the chopped cabbage and grated carrots.
Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad, tossing together until salad is evenly coated. Top with the toasted pine nuts. Allow salad to marinate in dressing for 15 minutes or so before serving.

April 18, 2014

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Whenever I make this vibrant and colorful salad, I feel happy and healthy. I learned a great tip for making quinoa from Lorna Sass’s book Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way. She recommends making the quinoa as if cooking pasta, rather than cooking rice. This means draining the extra cooking water rather than letting the quinoa sit to absorb all of the water. Ever since I started making quinoa this way, there has been no more mushy quinoa and it’s done perfectly every time. This is my own version of a salad that I once saw at the prepared foods counter at Whole Foods. It keeps well for several days in the fridge and is great for packing lunches or picnics!

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

For the Salad:
1 cup red quinoa, uncooked
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked corn, fresh or frozen
½ red pepper, chopped
⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
⅓ cup red onion, finely chopped
For the Dressing:
1½ tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon fine grain salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
juice of ½ lime

Instructions

For the salad:

In a medium pot, boil 6-8 cups of water over high heat. Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. When the water is boiling, slowly add the quinoa and boil uncovered for 11-14 minutes. After 10 minutes, start checking the quinoa for doneness. The quinoa is done when the "dot" in the middle of the quinoa starts to disappear and when some of the white filaments start to come off the seeds. Drain the quinoa over a fine mesh strainer and let cool.
In a large bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the quinoa with the rest of the ingredients. Add the dressing and mix thoroughly. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper.

For the dressing:

In a small bowl, use a wire whisk to blend ingredients.